Fairings are installed on vehicles for a number of reasons, including increasing aerodynamic efficiency, reducing noise, and improving the overall appearance of the vehicle. To achieve these goals, it is important that the fairings are properly located during installation. Mislocated fairings increase drag and noise. Mislocated fairings also result in inconsistent gaps between adjacent fairings that detract from the appearance of the vehicle. Accordingly, a mounting system that ensures proper fairing location is important to both the performance and the appearance of the vehicle.
Some heavy duty vehicles have a chassis fairing assembly that attaches to the vehicle frame rails and spans at least a part of the distance between the front and rear wheels. The chassis fairing assembly is made from several smaller fairing assemblies, including a forward fairing assembly, a center fairing assembly, and a rear fairing assembly. The forward, center, and rear fairing assemblies are each independently mounted to the chassis. As a result, the fairing assemblies must be adjusted to ensure that the fairings are properly located relative to each other in order to meet certain installation requirements, such as minimum and maximum gaps between the fairing assemblies. In addition to added labor, the adjustment process often requires special tools and mechanics with a certain level of training and experience.